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COMPARISON SHOPPING SITES
Wanna save some big money with little effort? Then introduce yourself to what are known as "Shopping Bots."
These wonderful little critters do all the bargain-hunting grunt work for you! While not all shopping robots are created equal, the general gist of them is this: you type in exactly what you're looking for (let's say Disney's animated "Tarzan" video), and after searching the Internet, the shopping bot spouts back a list of sites selling your item. Most will find you the best deals on the Net (including shipping and handling), while others just list a bunch of sites selling your item. If you can't find a deal that's good enough, some sites can continue to monitor prices for you and send you e-mail if it finds an offer in your price range.
One thing to be wary of is that many comparison shopping sites have cut deals with online stores to list their name first -- so the first store listed on your search results may not always be the best bargain. If the prices aren't automatically sorted from lowest to highest, sites usually offer an easy way to do that yourself. And since not all comparison shopping sites compare prices at the same online stores, it's always a good idea to check out a couple of different ones to find the best bargain around.
If you're using a comparison shopping site that doesn't factor in the cost of shipping and taxes, remember to do that yourself before deciding where to shop. These costs can vary considerably from site to site. Other things you need to consider are item availability (does the store have it in stock?), the store's reputation (it may be worth paying an extra 50 cents to buy from a store you're more comfortable with), shipping time (how fast will you receive your order?), and return policy.
Try our Comparison Shopping section for a list of the best shopping bots around.
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